Golden Fire
by Yoyocrazy3
Summary: The Thalmor send a young agent to murder a mysterious foe, and unwittingly bring about their own destruction. As Andevir realises the evil of the Dominion, he must make a decision: will he stay with the Thalmor, or risk his own life to destroy them?
1. Prologue

Prologue

**AUTHORS NOTE:**

**Hi! This is the first fanfiction I have ever done – and I would like to apologise beforehand for any mistakes I have made. To everybody who reads this story, I would just like to say thank you, and I would like to especially thank Skyflower51 and Blaxconiox, who without their help, this story would never have been written or uploaded. And I hope that you enjoy it.**

Ever afterwards, it always seemed to me that one moment, Hadmir was holding my hand and laughing.

The next moment, he was dead.

They had come in the same way that lightning comes – suddenly, without warning, bringing destruction in their wake. There was no warning – none at all. No time to act. No time for a single goodbye. No time to even mourn and regret my actions. Just time to run – and not even enough time for that. From nowhere, they were suddenly there, standing in front of us with eyes like ice, living nightmares, doomsday made flesh.

Neither of us looked around as we heard the door open, nor did we pay any attention to the sound of the metal boots clinking on the wooden floor as they came towards us. It was not until the hair on the back of our necks began to prickle, and we felt their strong gazes burning into us, that the laughter died from Hadmir's eyes, and my smile dropped from my mouth. It was only then that we had slowly, and hesitantly, stood up and turned to face them.

And we had seen.

Pale golden skin. Eyes filled with arrogance. Golden armour that shone like the morning sunlight on newly fallen snow. Robes the colour of midnight. Magic cracking and burning in their hands. The details escaped me as panic flooded throughout my body, making my heart race like a galloping wild horse. Because they had come.

The Thalmor.

And that meant trouble.

That meant death.

'What's your business here?' Hadmir's voice had been cold as a morning in Evening Star, anger and hatred clear and stark and deadly in every word.

The robed one stepped forwards, his voice high-pitched and laden with derision. 'Hadmir Frost-Blade?'

His name. They knew his name. I felt myself shivering, and not from the cold.

Hadmir swept me behind him and looked the speaker in the eye. 'Stay back, Lorianne,' he had murmured, then raised his voice and looked at the elves. 'What's it to you?'

The second, a woman this time, clad in that shining armour, was the one to reply. 'We have reason to believe that you are a follower of Talos, the false Divine.'

I had felt my entire body tensing with rage, and Hadmir had stiffened, his ice-blue eyes narrowing into slits. 'False?' The single word sounded like the snarl of a wolf. 'How dare you?' His voice had been shaking with fury.

'While Skyrim is under the jurisdiction of the Aldmeri Dominion,' the man had replied coldly, 'His worship is outlawed, and all those who follow him are traitors.'

'You cannot betray those to whom you never had any allegiance.' Hadmir's hands had begun to stray to the hilt of his greatsword, and I reached for my daggers.

'Think before you draw that blade, Nord.' The woman had fixed him with a fierce green gaze. 'This is but a warning. No one needs die this day.'

'But unless you denounce your faith,' the robed elf continued, 'we shall return. And then you shall face justice.'

Hadmir had let out a sound somewhere between a roar and a growl, and drawn his blade with a scraping hiss. It had gleamed in the lamplight. As one, the High Elves brought up their hands, fire and lightning dancing around their palms.

'Now, hold it there.' The Dunmer innkeeper started towards us. 'I won't have any fighting in my inn-'

'Silence, fool.' The male Altmer held out a hand. There was a flash of greenish light. And the Dark Elf fell to the floor with a thud, paralysed by the spell, still as a stone.

In the silence that followed, we faced each other. I tried to move forwards, to stand beside my friend, my brother in arms, but again he had pushed me beside me. Protecting me. Just like always.

Hadmir had held out his Amulet of Talos, letting the light catch on its polished surface. 'The day I reject Talos will be the day Oblivion freezes over.'

The female elf stared calmly at him. 'You have until the end of this month to change your mind.'

'I never will. If we are to fight, then let it be now.'

'Hadmir-' I began, but the male Thalmor cut across me, his voice sharp and icy.

'Then you are a heretic. And you shall die a heretic's death.' His eyes turned to me, though shielded as I was by Hadmir's body, he could not see me directly. 'And if you stand with him, then you shall too.'

And to my utter amazement, the Altmer woman had frowned and lowered her hands.

'Erlandir,' she had said, a trace of confusion in her tone. That isn't what we came here for.'

'Hold your tongue, Aravir. This fool will not change his faith. And he must suffer for it. He must pay with his life. And if the girl defends him, she too must be slain.'

'We have our orders from the First Emissary. They were not to kill. And the girl is innocent.'

The man had smiled, a cruel and wolflike smile. 'She keeps the company of a Talos worhshipper. Even if she is not one herself, she must still pay. These inferior scum leave us no choice.' His voice dripping with contempt, he had fixed his gaze on Hadmir. 'Do you truly wish to die for a pack of lies?'

Hadmir had let out a savage roar- and lunged forwards.

And a moment later, all was chaos.

Spells cut the air. Fire, ice, lightning, flying in all directions. Hadmir's blade shone. Roars, screams, bellows, threats and battle cries echoed in my ears. I found myself drawing my daggers and lunging forwards. The female Altmer's eyes met mine for a moment, and I felt my blades meet with her armour, making it buckle and break. I dimly heard her cry out with pain. And then a ball of fire exploded next to me, sending me flying backwards through the air.

I landed by the door and lay winded, gasping for air. The High Elf woman's voice suddenly rang out through the room, filled with pain and fear, crying a single name. One I did not recognise.The word was followed by a terrible choking noise.

And then I heard Hadmir let out a wordless, agonised cry.

I struggled to my feet. I spun around. And I saw.

I saw the female Altmer lying on the ground, blood pooling around her, her eyes staring sightlessly at the ceiling.

I saw her companion standing with his robes streaked with red, fire and ice burning and clustering around his hands.

I saw Hadmir writhing on the ground at his feet.

With an ice spike through his chest.

I saw. But I felt as if I were seeing it from a thousand miles away.

He looked up at me, and raised his hand. He hurled something through the air, and I caught it without thinking. It was cold in my hands. His Amulet of Talos.

'Lori!' he roared. 'Run!'

I saw the Altmer draw back his hands to strike the final blow.

And so I turned.

And I ran.

Ran without looking back.

The rest of the world seemed to distort and fade away. My head was pounding, and soon I became aware of only a single fact.

There was blood on my hands.

I could feel it, hot, sticky, like a thick red river. I wasn't sure whose it was. Hadmir's? Mine? One of those Thalmor agents'? I did not know, and I did not want to know. I did not know anything right now. All I knew was that my hands were red with blood, and that my own was pounding in my veins as I ran, and ran, and ran. Running for my life.

I did not know where I was running to, but I certainly knew who I was running from. I ran as if I could run so fast that I could escape what I ahd seen - but nothing could erase the events which had been played as cards this evening. But my card had been used. And I had played the wrong one.

I struggled to resist the urge to scream. The hopelessness, the horror, the grief and fear I felt overwhelmed my very being. I should have helped. I should have done something. But all I could do was watch. And somehow let my hands become coated with blood.

I did not feel grief. Not yet. I knew that it would come soon, would hit me like a blow from a warhammer. But my emotions were raging like a storm and I could not feel anything.

I wanted to go back. I wanted to fight. But I knew that there was nothing I could do. I was nothing but a Breton girl, young and inexperienced. Nothing I could do would defeat the Thalmor. Nothing I could do could bring Hadmir back from the dead.

I kept running. Flying with the wind, and the angry hot tears running down my cheeks had to let be. Yet the tears prevailed and blinded me. Blinding me so I could not see. Searing my eyes with pain. All I could hear were the echoes of the fight. The crash of the spells smashing against the walls. The cries of the Altmer woman as she fell. Hadmir, screaming at me to run-

And so I ran.

All I could do was run for my life, and predict the card that the opponent placed down; and that when it was dealt, I would be ready for it.

And then I would call forth a card of my own.

The card of vengeance.


	2. The Legend Begins

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**** Hi everyone - I just want to say thank you for all of the reviews from the prologue, and sorry for not updating quickly - in the future I will try to update more regularly! As always thanks to Skyflower51, who without, this fanfiction would never have been written.**

**I hope you enjoy it! :D**

* * *

Chapter One:

Skyrim is a land of legends.

Every corner of this fierce, harsh and beautiful land has a story to tell. Every mountain and tree, every river and blade of grass hides its own secrets. There is not a man, elf or beast from one end of the kingdom to the other who does not have some fable to recount. The tales they tell are the tales that all Skyrim's people know and love, the ones that are told and told again, and will be told until the death of the world. Tales of Dragonborn and Dawnguard, Harbinger and Archmage, Listener and Nightingale. Tales of courage and bravery, malice and hunger, loyalty and love, warlords and warriors. Tales of mortals who desired power, who worked for the sake of evil, and the heroes who arose to defeat them.

These are the stories that children beg their parents to tell them, the songs that bards sing, the tales that inspire warriors even now to take up their weapons in defence of their land.

Mine is but one of those tales.

I never expected that my life would pass into legend. I never thought that I might help create a new world. I never imagined that my name would be whispered in awe by mortals a thousand years after my death. How could I have known what I would achieve? I could not have anticipated that my life would follow the path it did.

I cannot say whether the Divines planned my life for me, or whether the choices I made led me to where I am today. All I know is that I am here now, and that the name of Andevir Velarion, High Elf of the Summerset Isles, is revered as the name of one of the heroes of Skyrim. Maybe even one of the heroes of Tamriel.

It is a strange thing, life. It never goes the way you might expect.

I thought I knew where my life was heading. I thought I knew what fate had in store for me.

I was wrong. So wrong. I could not have been more wrong.

The rest of the world was nothing to me. My life was all that mattered. I was certain of where my road was taking me, and I thought nothing of walking it. Even if it meant crushing others underfoot as I went.

And then I met her. And everything changed.

I sometimes stop and wonder… how is that possible? How can one mortal have changed my life so completely, so utterly beyond recognition? And how could I have changed her life so much? How could each of us change the other so greatly, and yet so subtly, so secretly, that we never noticed that we were being changed? That we never even noticed that we were making each other change?

She was a thief, a rogue, a wanderer. She knew so little of the world. She did not know how to protect herself. She was alone, and she was lost. And me? I was a fool. I am not ashamed to admit it, and there is no denying it. I was an arrogant, obstinate, conceited fool. I cared nothing for anyone.

And somehow, the two of us, together… we changed all of that.

We. Both of us. Together. As one.

How? That is the question I ask. How could we do it?

But does it truly matter? Does it matter than I never anticipated what the future would bring? Is it important that I do not understand how she was able to change me so completely? I am not certain that it does. We are here. We have both changed. And that is all that matters to me.

I daresay that in a hundred years' time, no one will remember the full truth. I expect no one will remember the snobbish fool and helpless girl that that once we were. We will be flawless heroes, just like so many other great warriors whose flaws are forgotten. But I know that it was not always this way. And that is why the time has come for me to tell my tale, for Lorianne to tell her tale, for both of us to tell our tale, so that mortals may know the truth about who we were and what we did and how it happened.

Because somehow I feel it is important that the truth is not forgotten. I feel, perhaps, like I have a duty to make it clear to everyone. You see, there is something that too few people know, and that is that everyone has the makings of a warrior.

There are cowards, and there are evil men, but even they may have a spark of courage or goodness in them somewhere. All of us can become heroes. All of us have the potential to make our lives into legends. The way the bards tell it, you might think that every hero who has ever walked Nirn was chosen by the Divines. Of course that is not true. There are some who are, but so many are not. Lorianne and I- we fought great battles, defeated terrible foes, and accomplished great things. But this fate… it did not choose us.

We chose it ourselves.

We chose that we would stand by each other. We chose that we would fight side by side. We chose to pledge our weapons and our honour and our blood and our lives to wiping out the evil of the Dominion from Skyrim. It was a fate that we decided. No one else planned it for us.

We built our legend.

And that is why it is so important that I tell you my tale. So that maybe, you will realise that you, too, can create a great future for yourself. You can make your life become legend. You can be honoured as a fearless hero forevermore.

This is my story. This is my legend. This is my life.

* * *

There was no warning. None at all.

It was morning. The sunlight was bright, streaming through the windows of my room, turning everything it touched to gold. Dust danced in the light in shimmering clouds. Outside the window, I could see wisps of white clouds slowly drifting through the sky, like puffy white ships sailing on the gentle breeze.

I let out a long, low groan as I laid down my quill. It was not often that I found it difficult to write up my mission reports, but today, all the words I wanted to put on the scroll of parchment in front of me seemed to be stuck inside my head, stubbornly refusing to come out. Perhaps it was because this particular mission had been so boring. Or maybe it was the fact that the day was so beautiful- one of the rare days in Skyrim when the weather was pleasant. I could think of a thousand things I would rather be doing than sitting here in this poky office writing about the arrest of yet another damned Talos worshipper. Or maybe it was because _she _still had not returned.

I sighed, twirling the quill around in my fingertips. I knew that I was being foolish. She had only been gone a day, and she would be back within a few hours. I should not be worrying about her, and I should not already be missing her. But I did worry about her, and I did miss her. It was impossible not to. Ever since our parents had died, each of us had been all the other had.

Yes. It was well within my rights, really, to miss her, to worry about her. She was the only person on Nirn I loved. The only person I had loved for a long time. The only person I would ever love.

Until she returned, I knew that I would not be myself. There'd been no word of her yet.

But then… no news was good news.

There was a knock on the door of my office. I frowned, and let out a small hiss of impatience. This was the last thing I needed, to be disturbed now. Who could want to speak to me at this hour? Had I not very clearly put a sign on my door asking for me to not be disturbed? "Enter," I called, but the word came out as a strained growl.

The door opened a fraction, and a Bosmer servant stuck his head into the room. "Agent Andevir Velarion?"he inquired nervously.

Well, he had the right room, at the very least. "In person," I snapped.

He swallowed. "Sir, the First Emissary has requested your presence."

I slammed the quill down on my desk. "Very well then," I hissed through gritted teeth. "Spare me a couple of moments to make myself presentable."

"My sincerest apologies sir." The servant shifted awkwardly from foot to foot, stuttering his words. "She asked me to inform you that it is urgent."

With a low groan of frustration, I shoved back my chair and got to my feet. What could Elenwen possibly want with me? It could not be another mission, or a hunt for a Talos worshipper. No, the First Emissary would never concern herself with speaking to someone of such a low rank about such trivial things.

I stormed out of my office, leaving the gawking servant staring after my retreating back, up a few flights of stairs, and down a corridor, until I stood at the entrance to Elenwen's office. I had only entered here once. When our parents had died. When they had told us, in those cold, careless tones. _'We regret to inform you both that your parents both succumbed to Ataxia within minutes of each other this morning. We would like to pass on our sincerest apologies and condolences at this difficult time…' _And yet there had been nothing but emotionless blankness in their faces, as the two of us had collapsed into each other's arms and sobbed…

I flung open the doors.

The Skyrim First Emissary of the Thalmor stood in front of me, her eyes stern and stony. I flinched instantly, realising that I should have knocked and waited to be admitted, but she did not react to my hasty entrance with anything more than a short nod. "Come in, Agent."

I did so, and as I crossed the threshold, I suddenly realised that Elenwen was not alone. Beside her stood a figure with long golden hair, and grey eyes that burned into me with an expression I could not read. I recognised him with a sharp intake of breath. Erlandir. What was he doing there? Wasn't he supposed to be in Falkreath? Wasn't he supposed to be with-

I froze rigid.

No. No, no, no.

"Emissary," I said slowly, dipping my head in respect. "Erlandir."

"Agent," Elenwen answered.

"Andevir," Erlandir said quietly. He did not meet my gaze as he said my name, and his voice was low.

I took a step towards him. "Erlandir," I said again.

He raised his hand slightly, as if trying to warn off a wild animal. Elenwen coughed loudly. "Agent, you have been called here in order to receive tidings of-"

For the first time in my life, I broke across my superior, a silent scream rising up within me. "Where is she?"

Elenwen hesitated- something I had never seen her do before. Erlandir continued gazing at the floor.

"Where is my sister?" The words rang through the room like the roar of a sabre cat.

Erlandir raised his head, and the moment I saw his expression, I knew what the answer would be.

"Forgive me, Andevir," he replied, his voice barely audible. "Aravir is dead."

No. Sometimes there's no warning. No warning at all.

And suddenly, it was as if the entire world had been jerked out from beneath my feet, and I was falling, falling through the blackness of space.

No. Not Aravir. No. Not possible. No, no, no-

But she had been safe-

She had been in Falkreath-

She had been safe-

She had been with Erlandir.

I did not realise I had moved until I had moved. One moment I was standing frozen in the doorway, the next I was slamming Erlandir against the wall, my whole body shaking with fury and grief, my hands around my fellow agent's neck. The only noise to be heard was the sound of shattered glass, which I had knocked over to lunge at Erlandir, breaking into a million different shards, breaking just like my heart.

"She was with you!" I was the first to break the silence, as I screamed in a voice which sounded like it no longer belonged to me. Gone was the emotionless cold voice. Gone was my dignity and the phacade that I didn't care. And now I no longer cared: I only cared for what had been, and what had been lost. I cared only for revenge. "_You said she'd be safe!"_

"There was nothing I could have done!" Erlandir replied, his eyes widening for a brief second, before they narrowed back, as he hid away his thoughts, and most inner emotions he had left. If he did have any left… and they were still there, they would not be there for much longer…

"But you told me you would keep her _safe!_" I felt as if someone had lit a fire inside me, and it was blazing in every corner of my body. "Why are you here? Why not her? Why didn't you save her? Why didn't you die instead of her?"

"Unhand me, you fool!" Erlandir spluttered, struggling ferociously against my grip.

"Soldier, kindly desist from assaulting your fellow agent," Elenwen snapped crisply, observing the scene with the air of someone watching a pair of beetles fight each other. "It is entirely unnecessary, unless of course you intend to kill him, which I would not advise."

"Don't tempt me," I snarled, letting my hand burst into flames.

"Well if you want to play it that way…" Erlandir hissed, magic beginning to crackle in his own palms.

"Enough!" Elenwen roared her voice echoing throughout the room. We both froze.

"You are acting like members of the inferior races! Remember you are superior bred Almer of the Thalmor. You will maintain your dignity and restrain your anger!" She paused, looking slowly at the pair of us. Elrandir's furious, shocked gasp mingled with my own. _Members of the inferior races? _How dare she?

"Remove those shocked expressions from your faces – I am your superior and I can insult you whenever and however I like." I felt a flash of uncontrollable rage. My sister was dead. Dead. Aravir, my sister, the only person I had left. She was dead. And Elenwen was talking as if nothing had happened, as if the world was no different. As if my life had not been torn into pieces right in front of my eyes, just moments before.

"Kindly allow me to remind you that you are both agents of the Almery Dominion and you should act like such! I would expect this behaviour from Orcs!" Elenwen watched as I slowly released Erlandir and turned to face her, my face streaked with tears I had not even realised had come to me, my entire body trembling with rage, rage that was impossible to control. "If you wish to avenge your sister, then perhaps you would like to learn exactly how she met her demise."

_Met her demise. _So cold. So emotionless. As if she had simply blundered into Aetherius. As if Elenwen did not want to face the truth. Aravir. My sister. Dead. Gone. Lost. Forever.

Forever.

"How?" The single word, charged with hated and fury and wrenching grief, hung in the air between us. Erlandir glanced at Elenwen. She nodded. He looked at me.

"We were in Falkreath,' he began. 'Looking for that Talos worshipper. Hadmir Frost-Bade."

I nodded slowly, trying to force myself to relax, but my fists were so tightly curled that my hands were beginning to bleed.

"We challenged the fool. Told him that he was to give up his faith or die for it." Erlandir's jaw clenched. "But of course he did not listen. A fight broke out. We were far superior to the Nord and his friend, but in a confined space like that-"

"His friend?" I broke in.

"Yes. There was a girl with him."

"And you could not defeat them?" I snarled. "You could not defeat a pair of Talos-worshipping fools? Aravir would never allow herself to be beaten by-"

"I was fighting the Nord," Erlandir spat. "He was a fiercer foe than I thought. I did not see the girl until it was too late."

I stared at him. "And she killed Aravir?"

Erlandir nodded. "I did not have a clear view. But I saw her, if only out of the corner of my eye. She had a pair of daggers, and she knew how to use them. I could not stop her, the Nord was in my way. She thrust them into your sister's chest and the next thing I knew, she was lying with her lifeblood soaking into the floor."

I stood frozen to the spot, a strange roaring noise in my ears, the blood pounding in my veins. In my mind, I saw the faceless, phantom girl advancing towards Aravir with her daggers shining, saw her lunge forwards, saw her drive them through my sister's amour and into her heart-

I saw Aravir fall, those once bright green eyes clouded over forever.

"Who was she?" I whispered.

"The girl? I couldn't get a proper look at her. That accursed Nord insisted on shoving her behind him," Erlandir told me bitterly. "But she looked to me to be an Imperial. She had long, dark brown hair, and she was fairly short. And quick. Quick as a striking snake."

"Her name?" I hissed the words through gritted teeth. "What was her name?"

Erlandir looked uncomfortable. "The Nord shouted it at one point, I think. But I didn't hear properly."

I looked down at my clenched fists.

"But, before the fighting broke out, he gave to her his amulet of Talos, and whispered to her that if anything should happen, she should run back."

"I will kill her," I said softly.

"Yes," Elenwen affirmed. "That, soldier, is why I summoned you here."

She folded her arms. "I anticipated that your sister's unfortunate end would mean a great deal to you. Therefore, I would like you to seek out and eliminate her killer."

I gazed fearlessly into her eyes. "I will take any chance of vengeance," I snarled.

"I expected as much." Elenwen nodded. "It will be wisest if you go undercover. Tell no one your identity, do not reveal that you are of the Thalmor. Find this girl. Report back to us. We shall capture her and bring her here to face justice."

I blinked away my tears. "When do I leave?"

"Tomorrow. We shall give you the full details of your mission upon your departure. For now, I appreciate that this news may have distressed you, and you will need some time to recover." She waved her hand carelessly at me. "You are dismissed. Both of you."

I found myself stumbling from the room, Erlandir hastily following. The doors slammed behind us. I collapsed against the wall.

Aravir was dead. My sister had been killed. My sister, my twin sister, who had always been at my side, no matter what happened. She was gone.

Gone forever.

"Andevir." Erlandir placed a hand on my shoulder. I shrugged it off.

"Andevir," he repeated. "I know it doesn't change anything. But I am truly sorry. Believe me, I am."

I shook my head, desperately trying to compose myself. Yet Aravir's face would not stop flashing in front of my eyes. I tried to find the words I wanted to say- that I did not forgive him, that I never could, but I understood that he could not have prevented it. That I was sorry for taking out my anger on him, that I had not been able to stop myself. That he could not understand how I felt, how my entire world had been torn apart, how my insides had been ripped out as if my some invisible hand.

In the end, all I said was, "I can't believe you let her die."

He was silent for a long moment. Then very quietly, he whispered, "Neither can I."

We stood there in the hallway, neither of us speaking. He bowed his head and closed his eyes. And I walked back to my office. As soon as I sat down at my desk, I released any amount of control I had left, allowing the darkness to swallow me whole, and encompass me with my misery. Before I buried my face in my hands and wept.

* * *

And so it was that it began.

I thought that day that my world had ended. But I was wrong. So wrong. I could not have been more wrong.

Because that was not the day that my life ended, but the day I was given a new life. It was not the day that everything I loved was taken from me, but the day I was set on the path that would lead me to the finding of a new love. It was not the day that destroyed me, but the day that made me.

It was the day that I began to learn who I truly was.

It was the day the legend began.

* * *

**N.B And so the adventure begins... ** **I hope that this chapter answered all of your questions from the previous chapter. Feel free to ask me more! And thank you for reading my story so far, and for the support so many of you have given me already! :D**


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